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Considering he who's lost nearly 40 years of his life because of a crime he didn't commit, Peter Sullivan projects a remarkably positive outlook.

When I met him last month, for what was his first interview since being liberated from prison in May, he was upbeat and eagerly anticipating getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the opening match since he was taken into custody in 1986.

That was the year of the brutal homicide of Diane Sindall in his home town of Birkenhead - an occurrence he said he only knew about because someone approached him in a pub at the time and said, "allegedly there's been a murder".

When he was convicted the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was destined to a lifetime in some of Britain's most secure category A prisons where he would be hounded by his tabloid nicknames "The Wirral Predator", "The Mersey Ripper" and "Nocturnal Predator".

Navigating a Transformed World

Before our interview, he was rich with anecdotes about how since his freedom he has had to adjust to a radically changed world.

When he was detained, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, no one had heard of the internet and Europe was still divided by the Iron Curtain.

He described watching the demolition of the Berlin Wall from a public television in prison.

Mr Sullivan explained how trips to the shops now show how "everything's changed" - from trying to understand how self-checkouts operate to realising that "instead of having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Digital Challenges

His imprisonment means he has been unaware of the way so many aspects of everyday life have transformed - similar to someone who has been unconscious since the 1980s.

"After spending so long in prison and finding out there's no DHSS [Department of Health and Social Security, now the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)] where you can collect your money - you're thinking, 'Wow, what's going on here?'"

He now has a smartphone, after learning doctor's appointments need to be booked on something he now knows is called an 'app'.

He first became familiar with them when he was sitting on a bus shortly after his freedom and saw people using smartphones. He only understood they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Psychological Effects

Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in confinement have also led to an unavoidable sense of institutionalisation.

He described how after his liberation, one morning in his flat he went back to his bedroom and positioned himself on his bed, because he was subconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and lock him back into his cell.

"You've got to be at your door at a certain time, otherwise the officers will yell at you", he said.

"I remained thinking, 'What am I doing?'"

Desiring Answers

But Mr Sullivan's positivity is balanced by a desire for answers about how he came to be charged with an infamous murder that he didn't commit, and a confusion about why he still has not had an admission of error.

"My entire life vanished", he said.

"My liberty was taken, I lost my mother since I've been in prison, I've lost my father.

"The pain is deep because I wasn't there for them", he said.

"It's impossible to continue with my life if I can't get an response off them."

"The sole thing I need, an apology [and to understand] the reason why they've done this to me", he said.

Authorities Position

Merseyside Police said "there would be little benefit to be gained for a reassessment of this matter today" because of "advancements to investigative techniques and improvements in the law over the last 40 years".

The force did refer some of Mr Sullivan's accusations to the police regulatory agency, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now examine his claims that officers physically abused him and threatened to link him to other crimes if he didn't plead guilty to Diane Sindall's murder.

When asked if it would express regret, the force did not directly answer the question, but as part of a lengthy statement it said: "The force regrets that there has been a serious failure of justice in this case".

Looking Ahead

Mr Sullivan told me about his basic aspiration - an ambition that he said he had abandoned expectation of being able to realise at some points over his almost forty years behind bars.

"The sole objective to do now is proceed with my own life and progress as I was before, and enjoy my remaining years now".

His life ahead may be made easier by government financial payment, paid to victims of judicial errors.

This system is limited at £1.3m, a limit which it is thought his resulting award will get very approach.

But the process is not guaranteed, and it is time-consuming.

Andrew Malkinson, whose sentence for a rape he had no involvement in was quashed in 2023, was only granted an temporary payment earlier this year.

Convicted criminals who confess to their crimes and are paroled get a place to live and some support regarding living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an innocent man, is not entitled to that help.

And so he is living a modest life, with his humble goals - although many think he is a compensation recipient.

His lawyer, Sarah Myatt, said "there's not a figure that you could say that would be adequate for forfeiting 38 years of your life".